


Reunion

by VirginiasWolf



Series: Life Moves On [5]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: F/M, unfortunately more of richard being a poor self loathing baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 06:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21248702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirginiasWolf/pseuds/VirginiasWolf
Summary: Camille helps Richard reunite with his parents for the first time since his near brush with death and it goes far differently than he assumed it would.Part of the Life Moves On series taking place between The Morning After and London Calling





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Probably gonna stop stating which stories each one comes in between because I end up adding so many that it's hard to keep up. Anyway, we finally have Richard reuniting with his parents. Also, after the development, I reveal in this, assume that for any story that chronologically takes place after this one Richard has a beard partially because I got a not yet fully formed scene in my head that leads to him growing one and partially because Ben Miller looks really, really good with a beard and it's fun to picture Richard as a character with one.

Richard finally has someone that he feels he can trust enough to be truly open with, and this is strange to him. Stranger still is that Camille actually wants to be with him, that the thought of dating him doesn't feel her with dread even though he's well aware that she could do so much better than what he can provide. Even more so, she proves that she doesn't see him as just a lover by how gentle and tender she is with him.

  
Right now she stands before him, with a tiny pair of scissors held carefully in her dominant hand. He's surprised himself by letting her actually trim his beard for him, but he trusts her, more than he ever has trusted another human being and although this scares him, it makes him feel safe too.

  
"Are you nervous?" In her dark eyes, he sees a warmth that calms him.

  
"I'm not sure if they'll want to see me," he admits. It's been over a year now. Surely his parents will have moved beyond wanting to be forced to relive the failure of theirs. The imperfect son who never quite lived up to their potential whom they'd already been forced to bury. There had been hints before the attack that perhaps they didn't hate who he'd become, but he's still sure it must have been a relief to no longer have to be aware of their failure.

  
Camille's face scrunches into an expression he can't quite define at first, but then he realizes she's about to start crying. No, she does start crying. At least by this point, she's put down the trimming scissors, because she suddenly embraces him and when she speaks her voice is muffled against his shoulder. "Oh Richard, how can you think so lowly of yourself to believe that your own parents have forgotten you?"

  
"Because I didn't live up to their expectations." It feels like a frank and honest comment. They don't want him back. He's sure of that. All Camille is doing by making him meet with them tonight is beating a dead horse.

  
-  
Camille insists on driving. The English roads may be a bit different from the ones of France or Saint Marie, and her stomach may be utterly churning about tonight, but if she leaves it up to Richard to drive he will probably just back out completely.

  
She isn't sure how tonight is going to go. She knows for a fact that despite what Richard believes, Graham and Jennifer Poole will be more than overjoyed to see their son again, but she isn't entirely sure how they'll feel about her.

  
For the first year, when she'd thought Richard was dead, she'd kept up a steady communication with Richard's mother as a last means to hold onto him. This had even gone as far as receiving copies of old pictures of him and being allowed to take ownership of his beloved telescope, although poor Lucy hasn't gotten much use so far. However, upon arriving in Paris and finding Richard alive she'd stopped communication with Jennifer. It had felt unfair to keep it up when Richard couldn't even talk to his parents and she also hadn't been sure how she would manage to keep his survival secret while still under the confidentiality agreement. That had been two months ago. 

  
Two months of complete silence, followed by Camille suddenly acting like nothing has changed and she wants to find out if Richard's parents approve of her new boyfriend, because surely they'll know a proper Brit better than she will. That had been the excuse she had used to get them to allow her to visit and bring a guest. It had just felt too cheap to state over the phone that she has their son who isn't actually dead. She could only imagine poor Jennifer assuming that she was playing some cruel prank. It isn't really a full lie though, as Richard is actually her new boyfriend and she's sure his parents do know far more about British etiquette than she does, but she isn't seeking their approval on her dating choice.

  
She manages to steal the quickest glance over at Richard in the passenger seat. He is staring awkwardly at his hands which are clenched tightly in his lap.

  
Despite the beard he has sported for the past month, he reminds her of a nervous, terrified child. In a way, that's exactly what he is; a little boy trapped in the body of a broken and battered man.

  
Keeping one hand on the wheel she reaches over to lightly squeeze his knee. She wants to offer some words of comfort, but everything seems patronizing so she hopes the quick touch will be enough to soothe him.

  
After a silence that feels like it stretches out forever, they arrive at a normal looking flat in an orderly cul de sac. So this is where the man next to her grew up. Normally she'd want to take her time to analyze her surroundings and glean whatever information she could about the influence this place must have had on him, but as they park on the curb, that's the least of her concerns.

  
Richard is still staring at his hands, but after a moment he asks "What if they hate me for pretending to be dead?"

  
She hadn't thought about that or at least hadn't wanted to think about it. The choice to fake his death hadn't even been in his hands. In fact, some monster with zero empathy had decided on it months before he even woke up from his coma, yet she can understand why Graham and Jennifer may not immediately understand this. Even so, she refuses to let them break their son's spirit even more than it already has been, so she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "I have two very strong fists."

  
Richard looks up gape-mouthed for a moment. "You just threatened to beat up my parents."

  
"Only if they hurt you," Camille clarifies.

  
"You're an absolute madwoman, you know that." At least he doesn't look quite so scared now. Well, that isn't entirely true, but the shock he's experiencing as he tries to process what she has just said is much easier to deal with than the absolute terror and self-loathing he had been experiencing minutes earlier.

  
Softly she reaches out to stroke his beard before leaning in to plant a quick kiss on his lips. "It's going to be okay. We're going to explain everything and they are going to be very happy to have you back with them."

  
He closes his eyes briefly and sighs before stating. "I hope you're right."

  
As soon as they get out of the car Camille takes Richard's hand before leaning into him again. Only for a second, but she hopes it's enough time to soothe the rest of his frayed nerves.

  
Together they walk up to the front door and Camille knocks before getting a muffled "Come in!" in Jennifer's voice from inside.

  
"They shouldn't be leaving the door unlocked like this," Richard hisses next to her.

  
Camille lets out a soft annoyed noise in response. "That is not what is important right now."

  
"Right, sorry." Richard averts his gaze again, this time looking embarrassed and Camille lightly squeezes his hand.

  
The entryway is sparsely decorated, but Camille does notice a few pictures on the wall including one that had been taken of Richard on Jennifer's trip to visit him on Saint Marie.

"Look," Camille whispers. "They haven't forgotten you."

  
Almost immediately after they enter, Camille can hear Jennifer's voice from what she assumes must be the kitchen or dining room. "Graham's in his study. He's sulking about you cutting off contact for so long, but I'm sure he'll come around soon enough. Now let's meet this fine young Brit you've brought-" as the older woman rounds the corner, she immediately goes silent and puts a shocked hand to her mouth as she recognizes Richard. "Oh my God. Oh my God."

  
Then suddenly with surprising agility she is racing forward, and Richard lets out a soft "Oof!" as his hand is suddenly wrenched out of Camille's when his mother wraps him in a tight almost vice-like hug.

  
Jennifer holds him fiercely for a minute, sobbing tears of joy. Richard initially wears an expression that Camille would describe as somewhere between confused and flattered, but soon he gives in to tears as well, of what Camille can only assume is relief.

  
Finally, Jennifer pulls back from him just enough that she can turn to yell to summon Richard's father. "She's bought our boy back home to us. Camille's bought Richard back to us."

  
Richard's father appears in a doorway less than a minute later. The old man initially looks cautious, and although Camille can hardly blame him for being disbelieving, she also worries about whether or not he'll quickly become angry with his son as well. She knows Richard has spent most of his life fearing the man, and this kind of situation might be just the right thing to set off a rash reaction. Instead, for a second he looks at Camille as if to ask for some sort of clarification that all this is real. Before she can answer, he makes up his mind though and soon Richard is being embraced by both of his parents.

  
Camille is about to step back, prepared to let the family have their reunion without her intervention, but suddenly Jennifer turns and pulls her into the embrace with a surprisingly strong grip. She's won her forgiveness by bringing their son back to them.

  
-  
The moment they arrive back at their hotel Richard collapses onto the bed. Minutes later, when Camille turns around to see if she can get him to help her unfasten her dress, she finds he is already snoring quietly. He looks too cute for her to be annoyed by this, and after tonight he needs the rest. To her, everything went much better than expected, but she knows that Richard has trouble handling things that shake up his world and he was bombarded with a lot tonight.

  
It feels like most of their romantic relationship has been filled with hotels so far, but this won't be true for much longer. Tomorrow they will officially start looking for a place to live together in London. Shortly before his attack, Richard had sold his original London flat with plans to find a more permanent place on Saint Marie, and possibly the only positive thing about the clandestine nature of his being whisked away was that he hadn't had to pay his hospital bills. Camille also has a good amount of money saved up. She hadn't planned to live with her mother forever.

  
She's never wanted to move in with a boyfriend before, and with most guys, after she's dated them for only a month she's still been in the stage where she was more concerned with jumping them every time they were alone than planning some sort of life.

  
Of course, she has had some genuinely fantastic sex with Richard, but even during that first weekend when they spent more time in bed than anywhere else it didn't feel like she just wanted him for that. She's been in love with him for far longer than she'd like to admit and sometimes this leads to her being terrified of what will happen if she loses him again. Yet she also feels that won't happen. Sure they've had fights as a couple and she's sure they'll continue to have them, especially as their decorating styles clash, but as long as they can keep an open line of communication she isn't scared that he'll leave her.

  
Even the way she finds herself watching him as he is sleeping makes her realize that what she feels for him isn't lust or infatuation, but love. His current position is open, but even in his sleep, he looks tense and exhausted. His brow is scrunched and she can see little signs of how much trauma has aged him since they were together on Saint Marie, like the stray flecks of gray hair hiding on his scalp and in his beard. She wishes he'd changed clothes before falling asleep, as he hasn't even taken off his shoes and the suit will be wrinkled by morning which will make him grumpy, but she doesn't consider waking him up.

  
Instead, she makes sure to take her bath as quietly as possible before slipping into her own pajamas which consist of a large tee-shirt and underwear. Next, she removes his shoes, taking careful pains not to wake him in the process before she crawls up onto the mattress next to him. "Goodnight, Richard."

  
Even in his sleep, he seeks her out, gravitating towards the sound of her voice as if it is some sort of a beacon and soon his face is nestled into the crook of her neck where he sighs, apparently fully content before drifting back into the deepest realms of sleep.

  



End file.
